Kamloops, B.C. – The University of Victoria men's basketball team cruised to a 104-70 win, Feb. 9, then fought back for a 94-87 win, Feb. 10, at Thompson Rivers University to come away with two midweek wins.
 
Game one: Victoria 104, Thompson Rivers 70
February 9, 2022
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Quarter – UVic 19, TRU 16

• The WolfPack took an early lead, going up by a score of 7-2 with 7:30 to play in the opening quarter.
• Scott Kellum pushed the Vikes in front, draining back-to-back three's for the 10-7 lead.
• Trading baskets for the remainder of the first quarter, UVic finished the opening 10 minutes of play with a three-point, 19-16 lead. 

2nd Quarter – UVic 46, TRU 34

• Kellum would use the opening Victoria possession to sink a three, extending the Vikes' lead to 22-16.
• Diego Maffia gave the Vikes its first 10-point lead of the afternoon with a three-pointer, 27-17, with seven minutes to go in the half.
• UVic held a solid, 46-34 lead after 20 minutes of play.

3rd Quarter – UVic 79, TRU 56

• Continue to extend their lead, the Vikes would go on a 7-0 run to take a 66-44 lead, forcing a Thompson Rivers timeout at the halfway point of the third.
• Out of the timeout, the WolfPack would charge back with an 8-0 run, cutting UVic's lead to 66-52 with 2:45 to play in the quarter.
• The Vikes would remain in control for the rest of the quarter, holding a 79-56 lead at the end of the third. 

4th Quarter – UVic 104, TRU 70

• After TRU's first basket of the quarter, the Vikes would proceed to hold the WolfPack scoreless for the next three and a half minutes, building their lead to 93-59 with five minutes to play.
• Outscoring Thompson Rivers 25-14 in the final quarter, the Vikes would claim a 104-70 win to open the two-game series. 

WORTH NOTING

• Kellum could not miss for the first 25 minutes of game play, going 9-for-9, including 6-for-6 from beyond the arc to score his 24 points of the game. The fifth-year would miss his first shot with four minutes to go in the third quarter.
• Maffia finished with a team-high 25 points, and also added four assists, two rebounds, and two steals in the win.
• The Vikes had one of their best shooting performances of the season, recording clips of 56.5% (39-for-69) from field goal range and 57.6% (19-for-33) from three-point range.
• The Vikes broke 100 points for the third time this season, previously doing so twice at Trinity Western, Oct. 29 and Nov. 13.

 
Game two: Victoria 94, Thompson Rivers 87
February 10, 2022
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Quarter –  TRU 26, UVic 14

• After a slow start for both sides, TRU would take a 12-6 lead with five minutes to play in the opening frame.
• A three-pointer for the WolfPack increased their lead to 10 points, 20-10, with 2:15 to play in the quarter.
• Thompson Rivers ended the first on a 6-0 run over final two minutes to take a 26-12 lead, but a last-second put-back from Ethan Boag would make the score 26-14 in favour of the home side after the first 10 minutes of play.  
• The Vikes struggled from beyond in the arc in the first quarter, going 0-for-8. Meanwhile, the WolfPack shot 5-for-7 from three-point land to open the game.

2nd Quarter – TRU 52, UVic 34

• TRU would continue to build its lead over the first four minutes, growing it to 16, 37-21.
• However, UVic would muster a 6-1 run to cut the WolfPack's lead to 13, 37-24, with five minutes to play in the half.
• With the Vikes unable to find a response, the WolfPack finished the second half in the lead, 52-34.

3rd Quarter – TRU 70, UVic 62

• A pair of buckets from Aaron Tesfagiorgis in consecutive possessions, followed by back-to-back shots from Dominick Oliveri made it 56-42 in favour of TRU with seven minutes to play.
• Three-straight UVic three's from Diego Maffia, Matthew Ellis, and Elias Ralph cut Thompson Rivers' lead to single-digits, 59-51 with just over five minutes to go in the third.
• Another three from Maffia would bring the Vikes within three, 65-62, but TRU would score on their next possession to take their lead back to five, 67-62.
• While the Vikes outscored TRU, 28-18 in the third, the WolfPack ended the third with a 70-62 lead.

4th Quarter – UVic 94, TRU 87

• The Vikes would continue to fight back to open the fourth, resulting in Scott Kellum bringing UVic within two, 74-72, on a layup.
• Maffia would give the Vikes the lead on a pair of free throws, putting Victoria ahead, 79-78, with under three minutes to play.
• The Vikes would hold their lead for the remainder of the game, outscoring TRU 32-17 in the final 10 minutes to come away with the 94-87 win.
• UVic went 11-for-12 from the free throw line in the final two minutes of play, highlighted by a perfect 8-for-8 from Kellum to seal the win. 

WORTH NOTING

• The Vikes improve to 11-1 overall on the season after capturing two wins over TRU.
• Tesfagiorgis, Ellis and Kellum each finished with 15 points to lead the Vikes. Kellum added a team-high four assists for UVic.
• Oliveri secured a double-double with a 13-point, 13-rebound night.
• Victoria had six double-digit scoring performances in the win, with Maffia and Trent Monkman adding 13 and 11-point nights, respectively.

UP NEXT
On a quick turnaround, the Vikes return to CARSA Performance Gym to take on the University of Fraser Valley, Feb. 12 at 5 p.m.